I work with organizations where stress and disconnection are draining people's energy and eroding wellbeing.
Less friction.
More human.
Your people aren’t burnt out because they’re weak.
They’re burnt out because the system is full of hidden friction - and nobody’s named it yet.
“I hadn’t realized just how much my stress was showing up in my life because I thought I had a better handle on it than I actually did. I really appreciated that I left the workshop feeling confident about what to do next instead of wondering where I go from here.”
B.D., PAST WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT
Direct. Warm. Deeply human.
For 12 years, Sarah LaFontaine has worked with individuals, organizations, and the mental health system to do one thing: remove the friction that stops people from actually living their lives.
Her approach combines neuroscience, nervous system work, identity, culture, relationships, and language into something that is decidedly not a wellness checklist. It’s a real, honest look at the patterns that drain us and a clear path toward something better.
She’s known for her ability to walk into a room full of skeptical, overworked professionals and leave them thinking: okay, that actually made sense. The human helps. And so does the fact that she doesn’t sugarcoat what’s going on.
Sarah is trauma-informed, science-backed, and refreshingly candid. She believes that complexity doesn’t have to be confusing - and that the clearest insight usually sounds a lot like something you already knew, but finally found words for.
Sarah LaFontaineSPEAKER & CONSULTANT
Talks that actually land.
Every engagement is customized. Sarah doesn’t do generic. She comes in having done her homework, and leaves your audience with something they’ll still be talking about at lunch - and using six months later.
Keynotes
Most keynotes leave people nodding but nothing changes on Monday. These talks are built to land differently, using storytelling, humor, and neuroscience-backed insight to help audiences finally name what they’ve been feeling and understand why. People leave with a real framework, practical language, and enough hope to actually do something with it.
Trainings
This is where the real work happens. Trainings go deeper into the patterns, such as nervous system responses, communication habits, the hidden friction draining your team’s energy, and give people concrete strategies to regulate, reconnect, and reshape how they work together. It’s not a lecture. It’s a room where people feel safe enough to be honest, and skilled enough to move forward.
Panels
Panels are only as good as the conversation they spark. As a panelist, I bring grounded, direct perspective that cuts through the noise - connecting the dots between lived experience, neuroscience, and real workplace culture in a way that’s accessible without being dumbed down. Expect honesty, a little humor, and the kind of insight that stays with people after the event ends.
Consulting
This is where we get to the specifics of your organization. Through a mind-body integrated lens, we look at what’s actually driving disconnection, burnout, and friction - not just the symptoms, but the root causes underneath them. You get a realistic, person-centered path forward. Not a generic playbook. A real strategy built around your people.
Where does the conversation need to go?
The Anti-Friction Workplace
Emotional Regulation at Work
The Hidden Cost of Disconnection
Radical Leadership in the Face of Change
Language That Connects
Beyond Burnout Prevention
What does anti-friction mean?
Most workplace initiatives focus on adding things. More trainings, more tools, more programs. Anti-friction work starts with a different question: what’s already getting in the way?
Friction is the hidden stuff - the unspoken tension that slows decisions or the communication patterns that make people feel unseen. When friction is running in the background, people spend an enormous amount of energy just managing - managing emotions and managing perceptions.
Anti-friction work means finding where that energy is leaking, understanding why it’s happening, and making practical changes grounded in how people’s brains and nervous systems actually work. The result isn’t a team that’s been “fixed” - it’s a culture where people can finally exhale and do their best work.